Dodgers 2012 Season Thread

Money ain't a problem anymore for the Dodgers. This new ownership has already shown that. In fact, Magic's gone as far as to say he wants to turn the team into the Yankees of the West. All about winning at any & all costs.

Money ain't a problem anymore for the Dodgers. This new ownership has already shown that. In fact, Magic's gone as far as to say he wants to turn the team into the Yankees of the West. All about winning at any & all costs.

I read a quote from an opposing GM on Twitter that said the Dodgers are playing a completely different game than the rest of the league this off-season.

I know people want to say they are spending their money foolishly, but as a life long Dodger fan, especially after the last few years with McCourt, its a nice change of pace.

The Dodgers are emerging as the early favorite to land right-hander Zack Greinke, the best pitcher on the free agent market, executives with knowledge of the talks said today.

There are hints the Dodgers, baseball's newest big spenders, may be ready to blow the field away. One was the revelation that came Tuesday afternoon, when Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reported that the Angels, who had Greinke as their main target, rather abruptly slid out of the Greinke derby, with a well-placed source telling Knobler that the Angels were now "unlikely to sign him.''

Word was getting around baseball circles that the Dodgers might already be signalling a willingness to go to about $140 million, likely on a seven-year deal, with a belief that they may go even higher. It was reported in this space a couple days ago that executives were already predicting Greinke would get a $150-million deal, which would make him the second-best paid pitcher ever to C.C. Sabathia (and the best-paid right-hander).

"I think (the Dodgers) will get him if they want him,'' one rival executive said.

The Dodgers are certainly a bona fide force in any bidding competition. Their potential presence in the Greinke derby is what worried Angels people from the start.

The Dodgers showed their financial power this summer, with their $260-million-adding trade with the Red Sox that netted them Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford. And they are working on a TV deal with Fox for an astounding $6.5 billion, which would seeingly give them the financial edge over anyone but the Yankees, who are not involved in the Greinke competition.

The Rangers also are in the bidding for Greinke, though it's hard to see them -- or anyone else -- outbidding the Dodgers, who are said intent on adding two starting pitchers. One of them will presumably be Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-Jin after the Dodgers won the right to negotiate exclusively with him with their $25.7-million bid.

The Angels gave up three top prospects to acquire Greinke, who pitched well for them down the stretch, and they've pulled off misdirection plays before. Did anyone see them getting Albert Pujols?

But the Angels have had a reluctance in the past to pay a pitcher more than the $85-million, five-year deal their ace Jered Weaver has. Sources suggest they may sign two middle-of-the-road type starters instead.

Other teams said to have interest, including the Brewers, Royals and others, surely couldn't compete with the Dodgers as long as L.A. is committed to winning this derby for Greinke, the 29-yeard-old righthander who went 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA and 200 strikeouts between the Brewers and Angels.

Greinke performed well in a close market (the Angels play 45 miles south on I-5), allaying any fears he might be better suited for a small-town team. He is said to have loved the Angels but not to mind the idea of a return to the National League, where he can bat.The Dodgers also have considered star free-agent pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Kyle Lohse, but appear to others to be focused on Greinke now. Their people have been asking around almost exclusively about Greinke, giving the impression he is their focus.

Some updates from around Twitter and other internet articles I've read:

There is a rumor going around that the Dodgers are ready to offer Greinke (or have offered already) a 7-year, $170 million deal.

Dee Gordon is available but only for a significant return; they like his potential but just think he's not ready yet.

The team is looking for an all-star 3B or SS to put next to Hanley Ramirez

Dodgers talked to the Mets about Dickey, not sure if talks have gone further.

Colletti said yesterday they were talking with 10+ teams about trades at the moment

If Dee Gordon is available, we might be able to get a very good player if we trade him along with Andre Ethier or Zach Lee. My thought was that Felix Hernandez would be a prime target but if we were to trade Ethier with Gordon, a trade for Giancarlo Stanton would be just awesome.

I think barring an upset, Greinke will be a Dodger. Might be too much money for him to pass up if they are going to offer that much.